K.J. Williams, a four-star recruit, may not pick a college until after his high school season has started, his coach said.Easton Express-Times

John Truby was hired as the head football coach at Liberty High School on Jan. 28, 2013. And the minute he was hired, during a monthly school board meeting on a Monday, Truby already knew there was a position he did not have to worry about on the field.

"When I found out I was getting the job it was just like, ‘Well, I know wide receiver is going to be pretty good,’" Truby said. "There are people in towns over that know K.J. Williams. He’s just that kind of guy that everyone knows who K.J. is."

Including Syracuse.

Williams, a 6-foot-2-inch, 190-pound wide receiver, is high on Syracuse's recruiting board for the class of 2014. He is a four-star talent according to nearly every recruiting website, and he caught 59 passes for 986 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. Williams attended the Syracuse spring game with his cousin, current SU verbal commit A.J. Long, and the relationship between those two is one of the driving factors in his recruitment.

"I would say that places like Syracuse are in his top five along with Rutgers, Michigan and a couple others," Truby said. "I know he did like Syracuse quite a bit. We talked about it when he got back. I think he just needs more time. I don’t think he’s going to be making the decision prior to the season."

The first time Truby saw Williams play was in middle school, when Truby coached him in seventh and eighth grade. By that point Williams was already able to dunk a basketball, his superior athleticism and leaping ability impossible to disguise.

As a seventh grader he played fullback, blocking for current Buffalo signee DuBois Ross, who was a running back at the time. But in eighth grade he moved to quarterback in Truby's spread offense, and that's when Williams "exploded."

"He just basically put the team on his back," Truby said. "It looked like a man playing with boys."

Now in high school, Williams plays both wide receiver and cornerback for the Hurricanes. He is the first player opposing teams identify when he steps off the bus, Truby said, and he will likely be targeted "on almost every play this upcoming season."

For a first-year head coach, inheriting Williams is a blessing. One of Truby's goals for the summer is to design an offense that allows Williams to excel and maximizes his abilities.

His goals for the superstar recruit are lofty. He wants more than 1,500 receiving yards.

"The kid athletically, he can do some things on the football field that definitely can help out any team," Truby said. "Any team that he goes to is going to be lucky to have him. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything like him."

Which team ends up with Williams hinges largely on conversations he had years ago with Long, his cousin. The two always dreamed of playing college football together, and that dream could be realized at Syracuse. Long, a three-star quarterback according to Scout.com, was the second player to join SU's 2014 class.

Now he is the biggest lobbyist in trying to get Williams, a dynamic wide receiving prospect, to pledge Orange as well.

"I know that him and his cousin are very close," Truby said. "They’re constantly on Twitter with each other. I think that family does matter to him, having that relationship like he does with his cousin and his uncle and being able to build up on that and go to school would provide a little comfort for him."

The decision is currently a race between a handful of teams. Syracuse and Michigan, two places that Williams visited recently, are considered to be near the top of his list. Notre Dame has joined the conversation recently, and Rutgers is in the mix as well, Truby said.

And whichever program he ends up with is likely to feel much more confident about its receiving corps. Just like Truby did when he was hired in January.